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Wohl Virion Centre

The Centre, made possible thanks to the generous support of The
Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation, was opened in February 1999. Originally
located in the Windeyer Building, it is now housed in newly refurbished space
within the Cruciform Building, Department of Infection. It hosts a high through
put screening facility in its cat 3 laboratory.

The Centre is mainly devoted to the study of
retroviruses, including HIV, from basic biology to novel drug and vaccine
development. It is cited as one of the top AIDS research laboratories
worldwide. Researchers in the Centre also investigate host-pathogen interactions,
small molecule inhibitors of retrovirus replication, broadly cross-neutralising
antibodies, xenotransplantation and new and cheaper diagnostic assays to detect
virus infection in patients.

Dr Ariberto Fassati

High
through put cell-based screenings of small molecules to identify novel viral-host
interactions.

Early
events in HIV-1 infection.

tRNA retrograde
transport and mechanisms of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking: we are
investigating how large structures such as viruses can go across nuclear
pores. The biophysical aspects of this work are performed in collaboration
with the UCL London Centre for Nanotechnology.

Control of
cancer regression using the canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) as
a model system. We want to understand genetic and epigenetic changes
inducing CTVT regression and test
if such changes can be induced in human cancer.

Dr Clare Jolly

The
secretory pathway and HIV-1 egress. We are investigating how HIV-1
assembly and budding is directed to sites of cell-cell contact by
exploring the concept that HIV-1 may hijack the pathway of regulated
secretion from T cells in order to promote efficient viral dissemination.

Regulators
of cell-to-cell transmission of HIV-1 at Virological Synapses. Current
research is aimed at identifying cellular protein and signalling pathways
that regulate T cell contact during VS formation.

Trafficking
of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein. We wish to determine the intracellular
itinerary of HIV-1 Env trafficking in virus-infected cells.